                       ---------------
                         MZF 0.97-a2
                       ROM 2.4 support
                       ---------------

MAKE.ZONES.FAST is an off-line DIKU MUD area editor for
Windows.  It allows you to build zones for Merc, Envy,
and similar MUD types.

This is a trial version of MZF 0.97.  It reads and writes
ROM 2.4 areas, and can convert them into Merc 2.x and
Envy zones.  This version is for 32 bit Windows.  I have
only tested it on Windows NT 3.51/Pentium, I assume it 
will run under Windows 95.

I am sorry it took so long.  To get MZF to do what I wanted
I had to completely change the way #objects were handled.
I hope this new system is more flexible for everyone.

Next month I will fix any bugs reported, plus finish the new
help file and self-extracting install.  There will also be
MZF 0.97 for regular Windows 3.1.

NEW NOTES for Alpha-2

1) This is the second alpha test release of MZF 0.97.  It is
supposed to fix up the bugs in alpha 1.  For the first time,
it includes a full Windows help on the new features.
2) If this fixes all of the major bugs, the next release will
be the beta with an installation program and a sample zone.
If anyone has written a small ROM 2.4 compatible zone they 
want to be the sample zone, let me know and maybe I can include
it.
3) Thanks to everyone who tested alpha 1.
4) If you had mob resets in your ROM 2.4 zone, this alpha might 
not load them, as there was a bug and MZF was considering them
part of the comments.  That was wrong.  There should be a number
at the end of ROM 2.4 mob resets which is the number of mobiles
of this VNUM to pop in this room.

NOTES for MZF testers

0) This version is just mzf3297a.exe.  You need to install
a full version of MZF to get the sample zone, etc.
This is the test/preview/demo version.  You will need to add
MZF to your start bar/program manager by hand.

1) This version of MZF is based on 0.94, not 0.95.  Due to
the fact that 0.95 required Borland C++ 4.5 and I find
myself only with 4.0 at the moment.  When my situation
improves I will put the 0.95 goodies back in.

2) The mode 'Ogham (write only)' is for a project I've been
working at on and off.  Please ignore it.  (If you are dying
of curiousity, I got ahold of an old (version 1.6) public domain
Ogham mud server.  (They are now up to 2.2).  I converted it
to C++, then I converted some Merc zones to Ogham/C++ with
MZF.  This allows me to run a Merc zones on a public domain
server.  I have been considering giving away Ogham servers for
Windows instead of Merc ones.)

3) This is the first version of MZF to support ROM 2.4, thanks
to permission from Alander (Russ Taylor) to use his code for 
loading ROM areas.

4) This is the first version with the new object customization
dialog.  This is supposed to allow you to add completely new 
object types to MZF.  If this method works out for people, we
can extend it to flags and other features throughout MZF.

5) This version is going to ship 32 bit only, but we will be 
testing with Win32s.  This means if you are using Windows 3.1 or
3.11 you will be able to use this, provided you download a .DLL
from Microsoft.  (Same as Netscape requires, and Merc/Win32s).
This means if you are using OS/2-Win or Solaris/WABI you are out
of luck for now.

6) This is an ALPHA test.  I just finished coding the thing today.
I haven't gone through and tested everything again.  There will
be a new full release with help text and for the first time an install
program for the truely clueless coming along after I get a "yea or nay"
from the net on this version.

7) The latest MZF news is always displayed at
http://www.goodnet.com/~esnible/mzf.html

===============================================================================

How object customization works

Object customization allows you to create new object types which MZF knows
about.  So if you decide to add, say, vechicles to your MUD you can teach
MZF about what goes into the slot values, and define custom tables or flags
for each slot.

If you are using Merc or Envy, you define types by number.  People have to
learn the numbers.  So your vechicle would be type "27".  If you are using
ROM 2.4, you use a word for your type.  So your vechicle would be "vechicle".

All of the customization is written to a file called MZF.INI.  This will be
in your Windows directory, not the MZF directory.

===============================================================================

About ROM 2.4 compatibility

I have revised the way object slots are handled.  MZF now keeps a database of
legal slot values instead of hard-coding them into MZF.  This allows new
object types to be created, with new slot values.  It doesn't allow us to read
objects in an area file with new values added, though.

I have added support for ROM 2.4 specific bits.  There are a LOT of them, especially
for mobiles.  These are currently on pop up dialogs in the object and mobile
dialogs.  I'm sure that Windows 95 'Property Sheets' would have been better, but
I was too lazy to write that.

I have made minor changes on the mobile and object dialogs to allow for new ROM
values, like the fifth slot and the 'either' sex.  New ROM exit flags have been
added to the exit dialog.

You might notice that MZF is taking off some of the bits on your mobiles.  This
is because MZF doesn't write out any bits which are redundent.  MZF checks to
see what bits a mobile of that race has by default, and only writes out the
bits that differ from the default for the race.

I started on some changes to make it easy to add new file types to MZF, but
that was just too much work, mostly because MZF is very poorly designed.  This
shouldn't effect you unless you are trying to make your own MZF version.

===============================================================================

About MUD servers for Windows

In the past, I did a simple port of Merc to Windows, and added some features to
match the MUD I was playing on at the time.  I wrote it for my own zone testing,
then released the binaries and source for people.

Some people got ahold of this source and did a full ROM 2.3 port.  I wasn't
involved with that, and don't know what happened to that port, it isn't on
the net anymore.

Recently someone told me they had made my port work better on Windows 95.
There is a pointer to this, and other server info, on my mud server page.
I can't remember the URL right now, but go to
http://www.goodnet.com/~esnible/mudinfo.html
and click on "server info, locations".


Slash
esnible@goodnet.com
http://www.goodnet.com/~esnible